Method of lifting oil from a well

ABSTRACT

In a well, the method of lifting oil to the surface that utilizes the hydrostatic pressure, the stored energy in a column of fluid in a tubing string to power a down hole pump that is controlled by a directional switching control valve that selectively directs said hydrostatic pressure to said pump resulting in a flow of production fluid into another string of tubing that conducts that fluid up to the surface.

BACKGROUND Stripper Wells

A stripper well or marginal well is an oil or gas well that is nearing the end of its economically useful life. “Stripper well” or “marginal well” are terms generally used to describe wells that produce natural oil at very low rates-less than 10 barrels per day of oil.

With the price of crude oil spiraling upward an interest in reclaiming untapped reserves in these stripper wells is becoming a topic of renewed interest.

In the United States of America, one out of every six barrels of crude oil produced comes from a marginal oil well, and over 78 percent of the total number of U.S. oil wells are now classified as such. There are over 400,000 of these wells in the United States, and together they produce nearly 900 thousand barrels of oil per day, 16 percent of U.S. Production. There are thousands of wells that don't have enough potential production to justify the operating cost of the conventional pumping jack with rods and tubing and these are the wells that applicant's new method could help strip out a little more oil.

SUMMARY

One of the major objects of applicant's invention is to provide a down hole pumping device that will produce small amounts of oil from stripper wells with a minimum of operating expenses and equipment investment. This design adventure resulted in applicant discovering a whole new method of lifting oil from an oil well.

The old method uses solid rods with a pump on the bottom of them and they are installed inside of tubing that hangs inside of the well casing. A pumping unit with a power source is connected to the rod string which lifts the rods and the pump plunger and some amount of oil is lifted to the surface.

This is the most used method today and it has been the most used method for many years.

Applicant's method eliminates the rod string and the powered pumping unit at the surface. This new method has a pump attached to the bottom of and on the outside of a string of tubing. A second string of tubing is run in alongside of the first tubing string. This second tubing provides the power to run the pump when water is poured into it. The weight of the water, the hydrostatic pressure of the water powers the pump. Simply adding enough water into the second tubing string will build up a hydrostatic pressure at the pump and cause the pump to start pumping. Water in a vertical column weighs 0.43 pounds per square inch for each vertical foot of height so a well 1,000 ft deep will have a hydrostatic pressure of 430 psi and if it is salt water it is 0.44 psi and a 1,000 ft well the pressure would be 440 psi. That is the pressure in the tubing that carries water down to the pump. The pressure in the tubing that carries the oil back up to the surface will be different because the weight to oil is less than water. Oil is 0.333 PSI for every foot of vertical height in the tubing. In order to lift the oil by using a pump requires that the pump have a higher discharge pressure than its input pressure.

This higher fluid pressure is necessary for moving the oil up to the surface because that hydrostatic pressure of 0.333 psi for every foot of vertical height would exert a force back down on the pump's small piston. The pump is designed to increase its discharge pressure by a little over 20%. The force on the big end of the piston would be 0.43 psi times the area of big end of the piston which gives a higher psi and greater force by 20% to 25% depending on what the ratio of oil to water is in the production line. Lifting oil from a well utilizing the hydrostatic pressure in a tubing string to power a pump is a whole new method.

A directional switching control valve directs the water pressure to the operating chambers of the pump. To stop the pump, simply close the valve on the production tubing at the surface or stop putting water in the second tubing. This will result in not be enough water pressure to operate the pump. The water that is put into the well stays in the well. Based only on cubic inch displacement, the ratio should be about three gallons of water into a well to get a return of two gallons of oil. If part of the production is water or gas then there will be less oil returned.

There are hydraulic lines connecting this second tubing string to the pump and control valve assembly.

The piston in the pump has a small rod 51 a connected to it and it extends out through a hole in the end of the pump body. It's function is to make contact with the control valve. The control valve is connected to this rod by way of a spring and when the piston in the pump gets to the end of its stroke, the rod pulls on the spring to trip the control valve to redirect the water pressure to a middle chamber of the pump that pushes the piston back to the beginning of the power stroke. On this back stroke of the piston, oil is sucked in from the well into the smaller chamber through a check valve. Then when the big chamber receives the water pressure, it pushes the oil that has been sucked into the smaller chamber up through the first tubing string up to the surface.

The third chamber is at the opposite end of the large piston. This third chamber has ports for fluid to enter and exit it. There are check valves for the entrance and the exit of oil into it. One check valve prevents fluid from leaving the chamber but allows fluid to enter the chamber. The other check valve allows fluid to leave the chamber but does not allow fluid to flow back into the chamber. When the pump's piston moves backwards it sucks oil into that third chamber past the check valve thereby filling the chamber with oil and then when pressure is applied to the large end of the piston it displaces that fluid out of that third chamber through a check valve and up through tubing to the surface.

The first tubing string has a valve connected to it at the surface. This valve controls the amount of oil that is produced from the well. It also controls the rate of reciprocation of the piston in the body of the pump.

There is also an adapter on the end of the second tubing string that takes water from within it out through a port into small tubing that is connected to the directional switching control valve.

There is also an adapter on the end of the first string of tubing that brings oil back to the surface. It accepts smaller diameter tubing to be connected to the discharge ports of the pump.

When the directional switching control valve directs the water to the pump's large chamber and piston, it causes it to move to the end of it's stroke and then when the directional switching control valve is tripped by the rod, the water is directed to the middle chamber of the pump and it causes the piston to move back to its original position.

In old wells that may not have any tubing in them and new tubing has to be purchased to use this new method, then small tubing such as 1¼ inch would be sufficient and would be less expensive that the normal 2 inch or 2½ inch tubing. The second string of tubing could be ⅜ inch or ½ inch stainless steel tubing strapped to the 1¼ inch tubing. The 1¼ inch tubing would be the best tubing to bring the crude oil up from the well to the surface because it will be steel which can rust if water runs through it. The 2cd tubing string should be stainless steel because it would be conducting the water down to the pump

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a schematic assembly of the pump, valve and the 2 strings of tubing. It shows a pump attached to the bottom of and on the outside of a string of tubing. A second string of tubing is run in along side of the first tubing string.

FIG. 2 shows more details of the pump when the directional valve is attached to the pump.

FIG. 3 is a plan view looking down on the top of the control valve when it is mounted on the pump body.

FIG. 4 is a section view and schematic view of the invention showing the piping to the three different chambers in the pump and the direction of fluid flow.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a schematic assembly of the pump, valve and the 2 strings of tubing. It shows a pump attached to the bottom of and on the outside of a string of tubing. A second string of tubing is run in along side of the first tubing string. This second tubing provides the power to run the pump when water is poured into it. The weight of the water, the hydrostatic pressure of the water powers the pump. FIG. 1 does not show all of the hydraulic line connections. It merely shows the approximate position of the adapters on the two strings of tubing, the location of the pump and control valve. FIG. 4 does show the details of the piping to and from the control valve to the pump.

FIG. 2 shows that pump body has two different inside diameters. The smaller diameter at 61 and the larger diameter at 62 and a piston with two different diameters that fit into the body and they carry seals on each of its different diameters. One seal is sealing on the large diameter of the piston and it forms a first chamber C1 when all parts are assembled. Another seal is sealing on the smaller diameter of the piston thereby leaving an empty space that forms a second chamber C2 between the two seals. When pressure is applied into the pump against the large diameter piston it creates a greater force to the fluid that is has been sucked into the third chamber C3 and it forces the fluid out and up to the surface.

When that pressure is vented from that chamber C3 and fluid pressure is directed to the middle chamber C2 of the pump it pushes the piston back to its starting point.

The third chamber C3 is at the opposite end of the large piston. This third chamber C3 has ports for fluid to enter and exit it. There are check valves 51 c for the entrance and the exit of oil into it. One check valve prevents fluid from leaving the chamber but allows fluid to enter the chamber. The other check valve 51 c allows fluid to leave the chamber but does not allow fluid to flow back into the chamber. When the pump's piston moves backwards it sucks oil into that third chamber past the check valve thereby filling the chamber with oil and then when pressure is applied to the large end of the piston it displaces that fluid out of that third chamber through a check valve and up through the production tubing to the surface.

The tubing that returns fluid production to the surface has a valve on it at ground level.

This valve controls the amount of oil that is produced from the well. It also controls the rate of speed of the strokes per minute of the piston in the body of the pump. Limiting the flow of production through this valve slows the speed of reciprocation of the pump. It will allow the operator to run the pump just fast enough to skim off the amount of oil the well can produce.

The hydrostatic water pressure from the tubing that is filled with water inters the control valve 51 through line 50 and it shows the control valve 51 open to flow of the fluid through it and passing through into line 55 which goes down to the bottom of the pump into chamber 57 C1 which is the large end of the piston. Notice in FIG. 2 that the inside diameter of the cylinder 60 at 62 is larger than the inside diameter of the cylinder at 61. There is a step down there in the diameter and there is a seal 67 sealing on that smaller diameter. The seal 66 is sealing in the larger diameter and the space in between those two seals is a chamber C2 for the water pressure to enter and push back on the piston when the piston reaches the end of it stroke.

The water pressure pushes the piston up to the end of the stroke as shown in the schematic on the right side and it shows the piston in the up position and it shows the control valve 51 with the flow going from line 50 down in through line 56 to the middle chamber C2 between the seal 66 and 67. The schematic on the right shows the line 55 being exhausted out through line 49. This pump is a differential pump because the piston head 65 is larger than the piston 63 at the other end. This results in a boosted pressure in the chamber C3 and that fluid is discharged through the check valve and the line that goes to the surface. 

1. In a well, the method of lifting oil to the surface that utilizes the hydrostatic pressure, the stored energy in a column of fluid in one tubing string to power and operate a down hole pump that discharges its output into another string of tubing that conducts its output up to the surface.
 2. The claim of claim 1 whereby fluid is lifted to the surface utilizing the hydrostatic pressure, the stored energy in a column of fluid in one tubing string to power and operate a down hole pump and to do so with the energy of hydrostatic fluid pressure only and no additional pressure is injected into the power tubing string.
 3. The claim of claim 1 wherein said pump has a directional switching control valve connected to it that selectively directs the hydrostatic pressure to the pump and that pump discharges its output into another string of tubing that conducts its output up to the surface.
 4. In a well, in combination a device for lifting oil to the surface that includes a plurality of tubing strings installed into a well, one of the tubing strings is a conductor for oil to flow upwardly to the surface from a down hole pump carried by a supporting structure that is connected to one or more of the tubing strings, one of the tubing strings is a conductor for water to flow downwardly from the surface to a pump, water is poured into this tubing string to cause a hydrostatic fluid pressure to build up in its interior and that fluid pressure is conducted into said pump to cause it to operate and suck in oil from the well and discharge it up through the production tubing string to the surface.
 5. The claim of claim 4 wherein said pump has a directional switching control valve connected to it that selectively directs the hydrostatic pressure to the pump chambers and that pump discharges its output into another string of tubing that conducts its output up to the surface.
 6. The claim of claim 4 in combination wherein the pump body is a tubular cylinder with two different inside diameters and there is a piston with two different outside diameters that fit into the body and they carry seals on each of their different diameters, one seal is sealing on the large diameter of the piston, another seal is sealing on the smaller diameter of the piston and then that piston is installed into the pump body there is an empty space between the seals forming a chamber between the two seals and it is the chamber that exposes the piston to pressure to push the piston back to its starting position and in the wall of that chamber is a port hole and a hydraulic tubing line connected to it which extends up to the control valve where it is connected to one of its ports so when the pump is completely assembled there are three chambers, two of which are available to receive pressure to exert force on the piston to cause it to reciprocate.
 7. The claim of claim 4 in combination wherein said directional switching control valve has means for being responsive to the position of the piston in the pump.
 8. The claim of claim 7, in combination wherein said directional switching control valve has means for being responsive to to the position of the piston in the pump and that means includes a tension spring connected to the handle of the directional switching control valve.
 9. The claim of claim 8 in combination wherein said tension spring is attached to the rod that extends out from the pump body.
 10. The claim of claim 3 in combination wherein the oil lifted to the surface is done without any motorized lifting mechanisms.
 11. In a well in combination a down hole reciprocating pump connected to a four-way valve with lever handle connected to a rod projecting out from the pump, a tension spring connected to the lever of the four-way valve and also connected to the rod projecting out from the pump, whereby movement of the rod back-and-forth over a predetermined distance pulls on the spring to change the position of the lever on the four-way valve resulting in a snap action of the four-way valve thereby directing fluid pressure alternately to the appropriate chambers of the pump. 